


soundless chatter

by RyDyKG



Series: Insouciant [3]
Category: Dream SMP - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: AU of my AU, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Brotherly Bonding, Clementine is a strong independent bird, Cliffhangers, Domestic Fluff, Fights, Gen, Happy Ending, Hugs, Hurt/Comfort, Pets, Rated T for TommyInnit, Self-Indulgent, Technoblade Hears Voices (Video Blogging RPF), Temporary Character Death, Toby Smith | Tubbo Misses TommyInnit, TommyInnit Has PTSD (Video Blogging RPF), TommyInnit Hears Voices (Video Blogging RPF), TommyInnit Swears (Video Blogging RPF), Tooth-Rotting Fluff, no one is exempt from loving tommy’s pets, no tag spoilers for you, tubbo can have a philza hug as a treat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-19
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:47:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 11,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28474908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RyDyKG/pseuds/RyDyKG
Summary: Tommy suddenly hears voices, a few months into his solitary life. They’re kind of helpful at best, downright annoying at worst, and he can’t tune them out. But he wants to, though, and the voices want him to write to Technoblade, so that’s what he’s apparently doing now.And he was having a good day too.
Relationships: Clay | Dream & Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), No Romantic Relationship(s), Technoblade & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Toby Smith | Tubbo & Phil Watson, TommyInnit & Clementine the Moth, TommyInnit & His Cats
Series: Insouciant [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2061870
Comments: 173
Kudos: 1326
Collections: Completed stories I've read





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> AU of my AU. You should probs read the first two in the series before reading this one lmao
> 
> uhh I’m not sure what to tell you? this isn’t good, I’m writing this in the living room of my relative’s house. kind of rushed, kind of weird, but whatever. hope you enjoy anyways aha

The hoe sinks into the ground, wheat seeds soon being planted in the hole that the hoe has left. The dirt slowly wets from the water running beside it.

Tommy sighs, wiping sweat off his forehead as he finishes up the last of the seed planting. He's been meaning to start a bigger farm now, especially since there's an extra mouth around the house for him to feed. For a bird, Clementine can be surprisingly gluttonous. That, and Day and Night have been eating more lately. They're probably going through cat puberty or something; despite having two cats, Tommy doesn't really know much about their finer habits.

As he relishes in the feeling of victory that completing his task for the day gives him, the voices come back again. His good mood fades pretty quickly after that.

_"HELLO"_

_"POG"_

_"you should check up on tubbo!!! guys come on spam this so that he hears this"_

_"LMAO"_

_"FARMERINNIT"_

_"POG"_

_"GO BACK TO LMANBURG"_

"Do you guys ever shut up," Tommy groans as he heads back. The voices appear and disappear randomly. For the most part, when they appear, he can usually tune them out by focusing on his writing, or whatever task he's doing at the moment. But after just finishing a task, it's hard to not pay attention to anything else but the voices. "You guys are annoying."

His words only seem to make the voices grow louder. Tommy half-regrets not asking Techno how to tune them out, but then he remembers that he would never ask Technoblade for help, and shoves that thought down before the voices can pick up on it and spam him and his thoughts with "Technoblade" or "Techno" or even "Blood for the blood god".

_"BADINNIT"_

_"D:"_

_"check up on tubbo!! check up on tubbo!!"_

_"JOIN THE ANTARCTIC ANARCHISTS THEY CAN HELP YOU"_

_"Are you gonna do something interesting already???"_

_"POG"_

_"D:"_

"Look, if you want to see something interesting, you're better off just moving on and watching over someone else," Tommy has no idea if they can actually spectate anyone else, but it's worth a shot. "Let me live in peace, for fucks' sake."

He heads inside his house, the voices still saying random stuff. Day greets him at the door, and he lets her as she purrs, rubbin* the side of her head against his leg. Night comes running over soon enough, one of her many toys being dropped on the floor as she rushes up to him, eager for some pets as well.

The voices descend into a collective 'awwwwwwwwww'.

_"DAY AND NIGHT!!!!"_

_"AWWWWWWWWW"_

_"POG"_

_"they are the cutest cats ever holy shit"_

_"AWWWWWWWWWW"_

_"POGCHAMP"_

"Hey there buds," Tommy greets. "Your boy's back. You must be hungry, aren't you?"

He places all his tools away first in the chests as Day and Night run to their respective food stations. Clementine is already flying around the dining table when he arrives, and she lands and chirps as Tommy moves to pour some seeds into her bowl.

Day and Night get to eat extra fish, since they're about to go expired anyways. They tear into it with delight, as Tommy chuckles and makes himself his own food, which is pumpkin pie and some hot chocolate with extra chocolate, since there's no one around to stop him from adding more chocolate.

Tommy enjoys his quiet lunchtime, with Day and Night playing with each other while eating their foods, as Clementine chows down on her seeds. Chirp plays in the jukebox, and all in all, it makes for a very calm scene.

In fact, it's even better now that the voices aren't-

_"POG"_

_"AAWWWWWWWWW"_

_"CHECK UP ON TUBBO"_

_"I just joined what happened"_

_"Wait who's the bird why is it there"_

_"LMAOOOO"_

_"POG"_

_"HELLO!!!!!"_

Tommy retracts his statement. The voices are, unfortunately, still there.

He lets out a groan of frustration loud enough that all three of his pets turn to look at him in various degrees of concern. He stands up, taking the disc out of the jukebox and putting it into the music disc chest.

“God, I wish I had asked Techno how to shut you all up,” Tommy mutters as he heads to his writing area. “Would be better for all of us.”

He freezes when he realises what he’s just said. The voices explode into a cacophony of voices, making him wince at their volume, that only he can hear.

_“TECHNOBLADE”_

_“Antarctic anarchist innit when??”_

_“TECHNOOOO”_

_“BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD”_

_“POG”_

_“POGCHAMP GO CALL HIM”_

“I’m not interacting with Technoblade,” he says, irritated. “I refuse to talk or write or text to him, now shut the fuck up.”

But as he’s forced to listen to the voices’ endless chatter once more, the thought of contacting the pigman grows ever the more appealing. At the very least, all he has to do is drop off a letter, set up a post box area that Dream won’t find, and wait for a response (if there will even be one in the first place).

The voices seem to like that idea, if the way they keep spamming “Pog” and “Yes” seem to be anything to go by.

Tommy sighs, again. He’s been doing that a lot when it comes to the voices, actually. “Will you guys shut the fuck up if I write to Technoblade?”

_“YES”_

_“BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD”_

_“TECHNOBLADE”_

_“BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD”_

_“YES NOW PLEASE WRITE TO HIM”_

_“E”_

_“POG”_

“Alright, alright, fine,” he groans as he takes out a piece of paper, ripping it out from one of his leftover books that he hasn’t used. “Now shut the fuck up and let me write properly.”

He writes the letter, making sure to write it as passive-aggressively as possible, before folding it up neatly and walking to the dining table, where Clementine is still perched in front of her bowl.

“Hey, girl,” he says softly. “Can you help me deliver a letter?”

Clementine whistles in a way that sounds like she’s agreeing. Tommy places the letter in front of her, smiling as she picks it up with her feet, flapping her wings.

“Alright, so you gotta find a house in the snow, okay?” he instructs his bird. “There’s gonna be a pig-like man somewhere, with a red cloak, and you’re gonna drop this letter in front of him, make sure he notices, and fly away, okay? But don’t get noticed yourself. I believe in you, Clem, you can do this.”

_“YESSSS”_

_“NOOOO”_

_“why are you putting your bird in danger”_

_“POG”_

_“TECHNOBLADE”_

_“AWWWWW”_

Tommy lets Clementine fly away, watching as her figure grows smaller and smaller as she flies further away.

“Come back safe, Clementine,” he murmurs. “I don’t know what I’ll do if you don’t.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA  
> plan what plan everything is self-indulgent updates are also self-indulgent FU-
> 
> Also coordinates in this are just random, I have no idea how far those coordinates are lmao

Technoblade is having an okay day. Not a good one, because he accidentally broke Edward’s boat, and had to spend several minutes trying to get the Enderman back into his boat, but after that whole ordeal, nothing else happened, so it has been an okay day.

He’s just chopping wood from the Spruce trees nearby, all the while his chat continues to say their nonsense.

_“E”_

_“E”_

_“E”_

_“Technoblade can you please say hi to me”_

_“E”_

_“Pog”_

Amidst all the chatter, a louder voice speaks up.

_“Hey Technoblade can you get a friend for Edward?”_

Technoblade pauses briefly to check ‘who’ sent that ‘donation’. He’s learned early on that ‘donations’, in whatever world his chat lives in, give certain voices louder, well, voices. The bigger the donation, the louder the voice.

“Uhh, Niall One-Two-Eight, thank you for the thirty,” he says out loud. “And no I cannot. At least, not now. But I may be persuaded.”

With his chat now distracted with the prospect of a friend for Edward, he continues his woodchopping in peace, gathering logs upon logs just in case he needs them.

He’s just finishing chopping up what will be the last tree of the day, when he feels something land on his head.

A hand automatically reaches up, and he pauses as he feels something paper-like on his head. He takes it off his head, and realises that it is… a letter?

_“Letter?”_

_“E”_

_“E”_

_“POG”_

_“what do we name Edward’s friend guys”_

_“E”_

_“Wait what???”_

Technoblade blinks at the letter that had fallen on his head. He looks up, trying to see just what exactly could’ve dropped it, and spots a grey bird flying away. Upon closer inspection at the letter, he sees some claw markings on it, similar to those of a bird’s. It must’ve been the one to drop it, then. But how? And why?

He picks up the letter, and his breath catches at the familiar writing of his own name. There’s only one person who has that sort of messy yet legible handwriting, and it’s Tommy. Tommy, who everyone has thought of as dead for months now, especially since he ran away from his exile grounds three months ago.

He opens the letter, to his chat’s delight. Slowly, holding the letter delicately, he reads the letter.

_Technoblade:_

_Hey bitch. Bet you thought you've seen the last of me. WELL YOU WERE WRONG ASSHOLE!!! But all jokes aside (yes, I know, shocking huh?) I need your help._

_So a few days back the voices started to appear. Y’know the voices that were in your head? Yeah they’re in mine now. And oh my god they are annoying as fuck, I don’t know how you deal with them. But I kinda need to know. They’re being a bit of a problem and also very loud and annoying and I need them to stop._

_They wanted me to send a letter to you, I needed information on how to get them to shut up permanently, or at the very least tune them out, so here we are. I have set up a post box at these coordinates (and it’s far away from my actual home so you can’t spill to Dream or come and ruin my house or anything like that). I have no idea whether you’ll actually respond or not but whatever._

_Also, fuck you._

_PS: If you killed the bird that dropped you this letter I will make sure there will be hell to pay. Trust me._

_PPS: Coordinates: X=4658 Y=41 Z=-349_

_Sincerely,  
TommyInnit  
Big T  
The Best Man Ever_

Technoblade stares at the letter in his hands. Three months with zero contact from everyone, and suddenly Tommy’s contacting him to ‘help him with the voices in his head’? His own chat definitely has something to say about it.

_“TOMMY”_

_“TOMMYINNIT?? HES ALIVE WHAT”_

_“E”_

_“BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD”_

_“TOMMY”_

_“okay guys we need to stop doing crab Tommy is gone crab now”_

_“E”_

‘What the heck,’ Technoblade thinks, a little hysterically. It’s not everyday that you suddenly hear back from someone who you thought was dead, after all.

He’s also a little offended that Tommy thinks he would ‘spill’ to Dream about his whereabouts. But that’s a talk he’ll have to have another time.

“Well, chat?” he asks out loud, already half-knowing the answer he’ll get. “Should we go see what Tommy’s been up to?”

_“YES”_

_“E”_

_“YESYESYESYESYES”_

_“E”_

_“BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD”_

_“TOMMY”_

_“TOMMY IS BACK POG”_

_“E”_

“Alright, alright,” he rolls his eyes, already heading back to his house to prepare. 

It’s time to see what the loud-mouthed brat has been up to for the past three months.

Tommy lets out a loud sigh of relief as he sees a familiar grey figure appear in the distance. In his head, the voices also express their relief and happiness.

_“CLEMENTINE IS BACK!!!”_

_“BIRDDD”_

_“POG”_

_“AWWWWWWWW”_

_“POGCHAMP”_

_“CLEMENTINE SUPREMACY”_

_“POG”_

“Hey, Clem,” he greets as he opens the window, letting her inside. She perches on the table, preening. “You got the letter there?”

Clementine chirps. Tommy coos and runs his fingers through her feathers.

“That’s a good girl,” he says affectionately. “Come on, you must be hungry, and you’ve arrived just in time for dinner!”

Day and Night are already waiting patiently by their food bowls when Tommy enters the dining room. He pets them lightly, smiling as they purr to show their delight. After filling his pets’ bowls with their respective foods, he sits down and grabs himself some leftover pie.

“I’ll be honest, I kind of don’t want him to write back,” he hums. “But whatever. Since you all are so insistent on it, I’ll go check up on it everyday alright? But only for a month, after that I’m never going there.”

_“YES”_

_“TECHNOBLADE”_

_“POG”_

_“AWWWWWW”_

_“POG”_

_“YESSSS”_

“Finally we can agree on something,” he sighs. He picks up the bowls and his plate, washing them in the sink as he lets his pets play around, before changing into his sleep clothes and heading to bed, the soft purrs of Day and Night and the quiet snores of Clementine filling the air as he drifts off to sleep, the voices blissfully quiet for once.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if the chat appears too often for comfort please lmk ok thx


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> writer’s envy be hitting hard but my determination to see this self-indulgent fic through be hitting harder
> 
> also if the chat is too much I can lessen the number of times they come up? if that helps?

Technoblade slows Carl to a stop as he reaches his destination.

The coordinates Tommy sent him are surprisingly far away from any civilisation. Then again, he supposes that that is the point of running away in the first place.

“Well,” he says out loud. “We’re here, chat. And… I don’t see any sign of a chest or whatever.”

_“E”_

_“FIND TOMMY”_

_“E”_

_“E”_

_“TOMMY”_

_“make suore carl stays safe”_

_“E”_

“No chat, we’re not going to find Tommy, let the man have his peace,” he sighs, walking around for any sign of the chest.

He spots something behind a bush, and walks over to inspect it. He snorts when he realises that there is a chest behind it, with a chest labelling it as ‘Ptoe, Post Box’.

“P-toe is the stupidest name I’ve heard all day,” he says. “With a name like this, it’s obviously Tommy’s work.”

He takes out the response letter from his pocket, taking it out of its envelope and unfolding it to read it over one more time, only folding it up again sliding it back into the envelope when he made sure that there isn’t any spelling or grammatical errors.

Technoblade is quiet as he slips his response letter into the chest. There’s no reason for him to be speaking, after all, and there’s nothing in chat for him to give a response to, considering the fact that most of them are just saying the letter E.

As Technoblade is about to head back, the soft sounds of leaves ruffling makes his ears perk up. Animals don’t make that sort of rustling… which means someone must be near. The chat starts to murmur amongst themselves.

_“E”_

_“BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD”_

_“KILL”_

_“blood for the blood god”_

_“BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD”_

_“IS IT DREAM??”_

_“E”_

When the leaves rustle once more, Technoblade doesn’t waste any more time before he’s turning around, pickaxe out and ready to attack whoever dared to spy on him…… only to meet surprised blue eyes, staring back at him in shock and terror.

He nearly drops his pickaxe when he realises just who exactly is staring back at him.

“Tommy?”

_“UH OH”_

_“D:”_

_“TECHNOBLADE”_

_“RUN RUN RUN HES GONNA KILL U”_

_“SHIT”_

_“OH NO”_

_“RUN”_

Tommy stares at Technoblade, who’s also staring back at him. Inwardly, he curses himself out.

How could he have been so stupid to not check before moving out? Sure, he hasn’t talked to anyone human in a few months, but that doesn’t excuse his current inability to look out for himself. Now he’s just made himself known to the one person he didn’t want to meet while out on his check on the post box.

“Tommy, what the hell?” Technoblade repeats his name. Tommy cringes, once again mentally beating himself out for not bringing better armour and weapons; he’s only wearing diamond armour and having an unenchanted sword, for Nether’s sake!

“Y-yeah?” he winces at his stutter. “Hey, Technoblade. How’s it, uh, how’s it going?”

“Everyone thinks you’re dead,” it’s not a question. Rather, it’s a statement, and a hard-hitting one at that. Tommy huffs, not making a move to get down from the tree branch he's crouching on.

“Yeah, well, that was the fucking point,” he bites back. “Didn’t want anyone to come looking for me.”

Technoblade watches him, with a sort of wariness in his eyes. Wariness, huh. That’s a new one.

_“TECHNOBLADE”_

_“WHY ARE YOU STILL STANDING THERE RUN AWAY IDIOT”_

_“D:”_

_“OH SHIT”_

_“wait I don’t think he’s gonna hurt you”_

_“big brother technoblade is here”_

_“Future sbi reunion pog?”_

“Shut the fuck up, you’re annoying,” Tommy grumbles, stiffening up when he remembers that he isn’t alone.

Below, Technoblade lets out a snort. “The voices bothering you, huh?”

“Well, you should know about that,” Tommy shoots back. “You got my letter, didn’t you? I don’t need your pity, I just need some help or whatever.”

“I don’t know about that,” Technoblade replies. “Something like this can’t be helped through letters alone. Besides, why should I help you in the first place?”

Tommy scowls. It’s always the same roundabout questions, trying to get him to do things he doesn’t want to do. “If you didn’t want to help me you could’ve just said so.”

And before Technoblade can speak up again to make Tommy’s mind hurt, he cuts in. “Look, we can just forget all about this meeting, alright? You don’t need to give a shit about me. We can part ways, you can continue whatever anarchist shit you do, and I can go back to my life. We don’t- you don’t need to give a fuck about me, I’m fine.”

_“D:”_

_“I am going to punt technoblade into space if he doesn’t help you”_

_“Shit”_

_“TOMMY RUN”_

_“TECHNOBLADE IS A BITCH JUST RUN”_

_“D:”_

“Alright, clearly we have some sort of difference in thought processes here,” Technoblade interrupts him as he’s listening to what his chat is saying. “I’ve already written my response letter and everything, and you expect me to just leave?”

Tommy frowns. “What, like you’re gonna help me or some shit?”

“Well, on the contrary, I actually am going to help you,” Technoblade informs him, and that really shouldn’t spark up as much hope as it does. “Only because I know how the chat can behave, though.”

“Yeah, I bet you do,” Tommy snorts, turning away. “Well, you’re going to have to keep sending me letters, because I sure as fuck am not gonna tell you where my house is, and you’re probably not gonna tell me where your own house is.”

“Y’know what, Tommy? You can be stupid sometimes,” Technoblade drawls. Tommy fights the urge to fight — and really, he thought he culled that side of him a long time ago — and instead, turns away.

“Well,” he rolls his eyes. “What do you suggest, asshole?”

“Regular meet-ups on a common ground,” Technoblade says. “No   
ties, no snitching, no whatever. I’ll teach you how to tune them out, and you listen to me and don’t mess stuff up in return. Deal?”

It might be a trap. Some of the voices certainly think so, based on what they’re saying. But the other voices say it’s a good idea, and Tommy is leaning towards reluctantly believing them.

Besides, it’s been a long time since he’s had any social communication outside of taking to himself, the voices, or his pets. It might be good for him in the long run.

“Deal.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> is it short? yes. do I care? kinda. am I going to do anything about it? maybe. will I succeed? no.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok so updates will be a lil later than usual because ✨ school ✨   
> but anyways here have them finally doing stuff. also cameos by a few mysteries lmao

A day after their meeting, Tommy groans as he, once again, regrets ever agreeing to his and Technoblade’s deal.

“I should’ve thought about Day and Night and Clementine too,” he groaned. “Shit… oh my fuckin- fuck!”

The voices seem to find enjoyment in his suffering, if the way they keep mocking him is anything to go by.

_“L”_

_“lmaoooo”_

_“L”_

_“Stupidinnit”_

_“L”_

_“everyone point and laugh at this idiot”_

“Okay, okay,” Tommy quickly moves to get some food for the pets. He takes a lot more seeds and fish than he would normally give, and heads to the playroom, where all three of them are already playing. As expected, the voices start to chant ‘awwww’ and coo at the pets.

“Alright, guys,” he fills up the bowls he had set up earlier. “You guys can eat all of this, but not at once, because these are gonna last you the whole day. I love you, stay safe, stay in here, bye!”

He closes and locks the door behind him as he quickly puts on a long black coat, seeing as the weather’s a bit colder than normal. Making sure he has some of his more powerful armour and weapons on him, he locks the door to his house and starts running to the place where he and Technoblade had agreed to meet up at.

Technoblade is already at the clearing when Tommy finally arrives. He’s also wearing that stupid mocking smirk that makes his skin boil with anger and his hands twitch to just punch that smirk off his face.

But Tommy’s been learning to be better than that, and he won’t win anyways, so he just rolls his eyes and shrugs off his coat, the weather having warmed while he had been running here.

“Yeah, yeah, brag all about it you stupid bitch,” he rolls his eyes. “Stop staring at me with those stupid eyes and start teaching me.”

Technoblade doesn’t laugh, but Tommy’s pretty sure he actually is laughing behind that monotone face of his.

“Right,” Technoblade speaks as he sits down. Tommy quickly follows him in doing so, looking at him expectantly. “First, you’re gonna have to describe to me how your voices feel or sound like.”

Tommy grimaces and shrugs. “Well, what am I supposed to say? They’re annoying little bitches who like to tell me to go back to L’manburg, or go check up on Tubbo, or chant ‘Pog’ or ‘L’ or whatever they feel like chanting. They keep disappearing and reappearing around the same times, sometimes earlier, sometimes later, and they don’t go away, but I want them to go away.”

The voices burst out with indignation at his description of them. If Tommy just pays closer attention, he could probably make out a few curses and ‘fuck yous’ amongst the sea of _‘D:_ ’ — which somehow is a sound — and _‘MEANINNIT’._

“So they aren’t around all the time?” Technoblade questions. Tommy groans.

“Of course not. I would’ve gone insane if they actually were around all the time,” he says.

“Hmm,” Technoblade says, and that’s all he says. Which is really annoying.

But before Tommy can open his mouth to ask him to say something, Technoblade suddenly twitches. And in the blink of an eye, he’s standing with a pickaxe gripped in his hand tightly.

“What the fuck?!” Tommy screeches. 

“Someone’s here,” Technoblade narrows his eyes. “Shut up for once, will you?”

Tommy swallows the indignant curses that threaten to spill out of his mouth, and the bitterness that always comes whenever someone dismisses him as though he’s the same person he was before.

He stays silent. They wait a beat. Another beat.

And then a soft ‘meow’ penetrates the air. And Technoblade is suddenly looking much more confused than ever, and has his pickaxe tucked away now.

“Tommy,” he speaks, and there’s something in his tone that Tommy can’t figure out. “Did you seriously decide to bring your pets with you or something? Were you thinking ‘oh hey, I bet Technoblade’s lessons will be boring, I need a distraction!’ name decided to take them along?”

His _what_.

Tommy whips his head around, and his heart drops when he realises that all of his pets — Day, Night, Clementine — are here. With him. And also with Technoblade. Who now knows about their existence.

Fuck.

‘I forgot to lock them down,’ he realises belatedly, horror sinking into his bones. The voices are going haywires, too.

_“it’s them!!”_

_“OH FUCK OH SHIT”_

_“OH NONONONONO”_

_“GET THEM AWAYYYYYY”_

_“guys dont worry sapnap isnt near”_

_“BUT TECHNOBLADE IS U IDIOT”_

_“awwwwww”_

“Care to explain, Tommy?” Technoblade raises an eyebrow, scanning the two cats and the parrot gathered around Tommy.

Tommy sighs and turns to him. “These are my pets. I forgot to lock them down in the area so they teleported after a while.” he explains reluctantly.

Technoblade stays silent for a while. In the meantime, Tommy focused on checking his pets over for any injuries.

“I see,” Technoblade nods after a while, eyeing Tommy’s pets. “Your pets, huh?”

He had recognised the grey bird almost immediately after seeing it. The two cats are new, though. But it doesn’t seem to matter to his chat, who are now irrevocably in love with those pets.

A voice speaks up louder in his head. 

_“Technoblade if you even hurt a single hair of any of those pets we will band together to not donate to you any more.”_

Technoblade inwardly groans. He isn’t planning to, he isn’t like a certain someone, but the thought of him losing his donations — which, for him, works as boosts for his power, patience and energy — is already daunting enough.

_“AWWWWWWW”_

_“TRUEEEE”_

_“omg theyre so cute!!!”_

_“AWWWWWW”_

_“PREACH”_

_“E”_

_“REPEAT AFTER ME: WE WILL REBEL IF THE PETS ARE HARMED”_

_“SAY IT LOUDER”_

Technoblade grimaces at the voices. Still, he needs to give an answer to Tommy, who looks like he’s about to run away any second now, so he sighs.

“Fine, whatever, they can stay, just make sure they don’t distract you or anything,” he says. Tommy looks surprised, but then a smile comes to his face.

“Yeah, yeah, alright big man,” he then immediately turns his attention to his pets.

Despite Technoblade’s attempts to pretend he doesn’t hear, Tommy speaks loud enough that he’s forced to hear.

“Alright,” Tommy says, in a manner so gentle and so unlike him that it makes him surprised, if only for a moment. “Day, Night, Clementine, you guys stay near, alright? Your boy’s gonna get some lessons, and then we can all go home together, yeah? Play with each other, but don’t run off too far.”

His chat absolutely loves it.

_“AWWWWWWW”_

_“SOFTINNIT”_

_“look at him!!! he cares!!”_

_“E”_

_“do not murder those pets”_

_“E”_

_“cute”_

“Alright, I’m done,” Tommy calls. Day and Night are curled up next to him, and Clementine is perching on his shoulder. “We can continue on with our business, big man.”

Technoblade sighs. “Alright. So none of the voices got any louder or softer, right?”

Tommy shakes his head. “No. Do yours?”

“Unfortunately. It has its perks, though.”

“Are you gonna tell me any of them?”

“No.”

“Oh, okay.”

And that’s how their discussion continues, with Technoblade asking Tommy questions, and Tommy answering.

From his answers, it seems that Tommy’s chat is slightly different to his. For one, some words seem to have actual pictures. For another, he doesn’t have donations. For a third, his chat seems to have a schedule as to when they arrive and leave, which is something Technoblade really wishes his own chat has.

Finally, after a while, he sighs. “Alright, so it seems that you and I have our slight differences in our… ‘voices’. Nothing that will hinder our progress, though. However, I think you need to read this book first, before we can go on.”

And, reaching into his inventory, he takes out a book, handwritten by himself after a discussion with Phil when he was younger. A book that Tommy clearly recognises, if the way his eyes widen say anything about it.

“Tommy, before we continue, you must read ‘The Voices’, written by yours truly.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> updates to come like every day/every two days. tryna make it everyday but idk things might happen sooo yeah
> 
> hope you enjoy this chapter even if it’s kinda short! and the beginning is kinda scuffed! and there’s a secret surprise for you guys near the end :D

Tommy goes home with his pets being carried in his arms, a book tucked into his inventory, and with little progress made on the voices.

Speaking of the voices, they’re still as annoying as ever. But it’s around the time when they’ll disappear, and he’s hoping it comes sooner rather than later.

_“BYEEEE”_

_“E”_

_“tommy go check on tubbo!!”_

_“bye”_

_“byeeeee!!!!”_

“Please shut up,” he sighs.

He lets out a sigh of relief upon spotting his house on the horizon. He speeds up his walking, wanting to reach there as soon as possible so he can get himself and his pets warm and comfortable.

The lights are still on upon his return, albeit flickering, and Tommy grimaces upon realising he’ll have to replace them a lot more sooner than he thought he’d have to.

He lets out a soft breath as the warmth of the house rushes out, and quickly gets himself inside, closing the door behind him softly so as to not accidentally startle his sleepy pets.

“Sleepy Pets,” Tommy says out loud. “Huh.”

_“:O”_

_“sleepy pets inc!!”_

_“SLEEPY PETS INC”_

_“POGCHAMP”_

_“POG”_

_“E”_

_“AWWWWWWW”_

Gently, he heads to the only couch in the house, and gently places all three of them down. Day already looks half-asleep, with Night looking like she might follow too. Clementine spares herself enough energy to fly to a mini-nest on another part of the couch, snuggling in.

Tommy finds himself yawning. Despite his want for sleep, he makes his way into the kitchen to make himself some food first. A slice of bread and a piece of leftover pie later, he heads back to the couch, where his cats have somehow migrated from being on the couch to being on the floor in front of it.

Day and Night are cuddled with each other, but they’re both clearly shivering lightly.

“Oh, you guys must be cold,” Tommy murmurs. “Come on, let’s get you guys to a warm bed-”

He’s taken by surprise when a little paw sluggishly hits him away, with Night letting out a meow.

“You don’t want to move?” he asks gently, his soft smile only growing wider upon the little, sad ‘mrow’ he gets in return.

With a soft chuckle, he places Night down, cooing gently when she hisses tiredly. “I’ll be back soon, Night. In the meantime, you go cuddle with your sister, okay?”

Tommy heads to his room, grabs his blanket and his pillows, and heads back into the living room. He carefully arranges his cats and Clementine on her little nest so that they’re all near each other, with Clementine’s nest hanging from the ceiling so him and his cats won’t accidentally squash her. 

The pillows are fluffed up and put behind the cats, and the blanket is laid on them. Tommy smiles at the sight of his pets, his beloved, precious pets, all sleeping safe and sound, without a worry in the world.

He gets up and grabs a disc from his disc chest. ‘Wait’ is put in the jukebox, and the soft melody of the disc plays as he snuggles into the pillows of the impromptu living room sleepover he’s having with his pets.

His head is blissfully empty, those he holds dear are safe, everything is comfortable and warm, and so Tommy finds himself drifting off to dreamland.

“Hey, Tommy,” Tubbo says, kneeling in front of the grave.

It’s been three months since Tommy had disappeared. After the first month, Dream had come to L’manburg to admit that he hadn’t seen Tommy in a while. After the second month, Tommy was declared dead. After the third month, Tubbo stops visiting the grave as often, trying to move on from his best friend’s unfortunate disappearance and possible death.

Well, if they can still be called best friends, after Tubbo exiled him.

Now there is just Tubbo, with the memories of a friend who he failed, and the grave of his friend, who was the only person who ever saw him for who he was.

“It’s been a while, huh?” Tubbo laughs sadly. “Sorry I haven’t been visiting as much, I was busy with the presidency and stuff.”

Tubbo had thrown himself into making sure there would never be a case like Tommy’s ever again. He’s torn down the walls, and made sure he listened to his cabinet. He negotiates and tries to be kind and fair. 

“We uh, we had a festival last week,” Tubbo’s voice brightens up. “It was lots of fun. There were carnival games, and Niki helped bake a really tasty cake. You would’ve enjoyed it, you always did like vanilla with sprinkles. I got over my fear of festivals now! Well, not really, but I’m really trying.”

There would be no erasing of the wars that had been fought. But Tubbo’s trying, and he knows his friends are, too. They’re all trying to make peace after an era of war, and so far, it looks like it’s working. Places have been rebuilt, creeper holes patched up, fights dying out as soon as they start.

“Um, I got back one of your discs! I like to sit on the bench and listen to Cat during sunsets,” Tubbo says, trying to be enthusiastic. “I think it’s good for me to relax from my duties and all. Everyone says I’ve been getting better at being president, anyways. It’s not, uh, but it’s not the same without you by my side, though.”

Tubbo blinks, and realises that his eyesight had gotten blurry. Reaching up with his hands, he wipes away his tears, but that doesn’t stop more from falling.

“I just,” he chokes out, sniffling. “I really miss you, Tommy. I’m sorry I exiled you and everything. I’m sorry I gave up our friendship for some stupid thing with Dream that was blown out of what it actually was. Niki says that it isn’t my fault, but who else’s fault could it be?”

There’s only quiet. Understandable, of course. Empty graves don’t have corpses, and even if they did, the dead can’t talk.

Tubbo wipes his tears away one last time, and stands up, smoothing down his jacket and shifting his collar to make it more comfortable.

“I’m making sure L’manburg lives up to what it was actually built for,” he says quietly. “And I hope that- that wherever you are, Tommy? I hope you can see this. I hope you can be proud of me.”

With those words, he walks away from the grave sitting next to the L’mantree. He has things to do, and mourning won’t finish those things for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> haha sorry not sorry for the angst
> 
> yeah people think tommy is dead lol. man disappeared for 3 month what do you think they’ll think lmao


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this in no way relates to this fic but!! someone made fanart of **calling in some old help**!! and oh man you have no idea how much serotonin it brought me. uhh link is: https://twitter.com/emiii707/status/1346192917388554242
> 
> anyways hope you enjoy this chapter! took longer to update bc of school aha, but I hope it’s still enjoyable :D

The second day comes. Tommy wakes up sore and slightly disgruntled from the soreness, and the voices aren’t helping matters.

_“Lmaoooo”_

_“Stupidinnit”_

_“show us the pets”_

_“TECHNOBLADEEEEEE”_

_“hello!”_

_“AAAAAAYYYYYYY”_

“I hate you all,” Tommy says venomously. “I hope you all burn.”

The voices continue chattering and laughing at him, with the occasional greeting coming through. Tommy quickly showers and gets dressed in a white hoodie and red pants, before preparing a quick breakfast of one, and only one, apple. Day and Night are already trudging into the dining room, and Clementine is slowly flying to her perch. Tommy gives them their food, and after ushering them into the playroom with some extra snacks to last them the day, as well as making sure to actually lock them in place, he heads out.

As he walks, he reads the book Technoblade has given him. He recognises it from when Technoblade would write in it when they were younger. It’s more of a diary than a book, but it is somewhat useful, and Tommy actually manages to block out the voices for a few seconds. That is, before they returned much louder than before.

_“L”_

_“F”_

_“can’t even block us out more lmaooo”_

_“wheres Technoblade”_

_“THE PETS”_

_“did something interesting happen while I was gone someone please answer”_

He sighs in relief as he reaches the place they had met up at yesterday. Except, something’s… not quite… right…

The first thing he notices upon reaching the grounds is that one, the ground is slightly charred, and two, Technoblade looks pissed. 

And when Technoblade turns his eyes to him, eyes still raging with a fire, Tommy can’t help the involuntary flinch that ripples through his body.

“H-hey, uh, hello Technoblade,” he greets, much quieter than before, trying not to either curl up into a ball and drop on the ground, or just run away. His flight or fight instincts are screaming at him right now, but all he can do is stand completely still. “What, uh, what has happened in… on these grounds?”

_“Uh oh”_

_“ANGRY TECHNOBLADE WARNING”_

_“SHIT RUN RUN RUN”_

_“why is he angry??”_

_“to quote John mulaney: if he looks at you wrong one more time I will stomp him to death with my hooves”_

_“E”_

_“F”_

Miraculously, Technoblade’s expression relaxes and even seems to soften.

“I didn’t expect you to arrive this early,” he says, monotonically. “Come here, what are you waiting for?”

“Well, uh, for one,” Tommy winces, but he still steps forwards, the voices buzzing and telling him to run away and never come back. “What… what happened before I arrived?”

Technoblade’s eyes turn dark again, and for a moment Tommy instinctively raises his arms to shield himself, but then his eyes go back to normal. “I just had to take care of a pest. Nothing much.”

Tommy stares at him. Then, he turns his attention to the still-charred and scorched ground. Then, back to Technoblade.

“I… okay, yeah, that’s great,” Tommy says, deciding not to ever speak about this ever again. “So anyways, big man, I read your book. How do I get these little parasites to stop talking?”

By the end of their second lesson, Technoblade likes to believe that they’ve gotten more comfortable with each other. Not like he needs it to assist the younger in his voices, but it does make it easier.

Of course, it’s hard to convince himself that when Tommy had flinched when Technoblade had first stared at him.

Once again, he curses Dream out as he rides Carl back to his own house. The green bastard had been curious to his whereabouts and had cornered him in his and Tommy’s ‘middle ground’ before Tommy had arrived. And honestly, it may have been better that way.

_Technoblade tenses up as he hears Dream’s voice. “So this is where you’ve been, Mister Anarchist? What are you doing here?”_

_“I should ask you the same thing,” Technoblade says evenly, turning around to face the ever-smiling masked man. “What are you doing, following me around, Dream?”_

_“Oh, nothing much,” Dream says casually. “Just the usual. Checking up on everyone. Making sure everything is fine. Searching for Tommy. You know, like I always do.”_

His fists clench at his sides as he remembers what had soon occurred. Even now, after a few hours, he still hasn’t gotten over the anger of Dream taunting him, teasing him about the ‘favour’ he owes him.

As if Technoblade will adhere to that favour.

Things had spiralled soon enough. And well, it was because Technoblade isn’t an idiot.

He’s been checking up on Tommy every now and then. He’s seen how he acts with Dream. He can kind of understand why he ran away. He knows the effects of abuse as good as a psychologist, after all.

_Dream gasps as Technoblade grabs at his neck, choking him. In his head, the chat chants for blood, for vengeance, for revenge against the false god, the puppeteer, the mastermind for everyone’s suffering._

_The ground below them is charred, from Dream using a flint and steel to make him burn, no matter how useless it is._

_“You listen carefully now,” Technoblade says lowly. “You’re not the only powerful person on this server. It will be so easy to snap your neck right now.”_

_“But you’re not going to?” Dream grins up at him, mask cracked and a thin trail of blood leaking down his chin. “What a coward. I would’ve never thought of you to have such cowardice, Technoblade.”_

_“Blood for the blood god!” chat chants. “Kill the abuser! Fucking smash that bitch up! Technoblade never dies!”_

_“If you even think about manipulating or abusing me and Phil and Ghostbur the same way you’ve done the same to Tommy,” Technoblade says, squeezing his hand harder, relishing in the panic that is evident in Dream’s body. “Well, let’s just say 2B2T has taught me how to make people regret their continued existence very, very well.”_

_Before Technoblade can say anything else, Dream disappears._

Technoblade, once again, isn’t a fool. He’s seen the way Tommy had flinched at his probably wild-eyed and angry expression. He’s seen Tommy raise his hands up slightly whenever he thinks he’s going to attack him.

The younger may have been doing better ever since he left Dream, ever since he left his manipulator and abuser, but trauma doesn’t go away simply because someone removes themselves from their traumatiser. 

_“BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD”_

_“E”_

_“E”_

_“FUCK DREAM”_

_“dream can go die in a hole”_

_“E”_

_“BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD”_

Technoblade sighs quietly as he spots his house on the horizon. He needs some rest, especially after today’s events. And maybe he can talk to Phil while he entertains chat.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> slightly shorter than usual but it’s because I am ALMOST DONE with one of my longfics :D!! at least I hope so. maybe. probably.
> 
> Uhh hope you enjoy this! there are two parts, and i think you all will like the first part. 
> 
> also, reminder that this was started before the events of January 6. things will be different here. keep that in mind, okay thanks!

Tubbo isn’t expecting anyone to be visiting him at such a late hour. Most people in this time would’ve gone to sleep already. Despite the fact that he himself is awake, of course; it’s only to finish up the last of his paperwork anyways.

So it comes as a surprise when he hears Phil’s voice come from behind the door. “Can I come in?”

“Oh, sure!” Tubbo responds, slightly surprised. He moves his paperwork aside as the older man opens the door, a warm smile on his face as he moves to sit down on the chair on the other side of the table.

It’s been two weeks since Phil’s house arrest had been lifted, and the man has been behaving pretty well. Tubbo had been expecting him to commit terrorism as revenge, but it seems like Tommy’s disappearance had changed something in him.

Then again, Tommy’s disappearance has changed something in everyone.

“What can I do for you, Phil?” he asks politely. “I wasn’t expecting anyone at this hour, so I’m surprised you even came.”

“Well, I’ve been feeling quite sleepless lately,” Phil admits sheepishly. “And I know you have been, too.”

“I know,” Tubbo tries not to roll his eyes, even as Phil scans him. He doesn’t need people to tell him about things about himself that he already knows. Besides, he’s handling it, and he’s fine, so there isn’t anything to worry about.

“Don’t need to get so defensive,” Phil chuckles lightly. “I just wanted to check up on you, and make sure you’re taking care of yourself after… everything that has happened.”

“Please don’t remind me,” Tubbo responds quietly. “It’s better to let dead men lie.”

For a moment, they stay in mildly uncomfortable silence. Tubbo is just about to ask if Phil wants to leave, when the man takes a deep breath.

“Tubbo, I didn’t exactly come here for that,” Phil says quietly. “I came here… because I wanted to apologise to you.”

And _that_ takes Tubbo by surprise. He stares at Phil in shock, trying to comprehend just exactly why the man has suddenly decided to come to him at such a late hour to _apologise_ , out of all things.

“I- I mean- uh,” Tubbo stammers, because he’s not exactly sure how to reply to that. “For- for what?”

“For a lot of things, you know,” Phil laughs, and it isn’t exactly a happy laugh. “For not being there when you needed it the most. For judging you too early. For saying all those horrible words to you. For misunderstanding you.”

And in the resounding silence after his words, he adds on a final sentence.

“For blaming everything on you, when you had this position thrust upon you.”

And Tubbo-

Well, someone can only hold in so much trauma and words before they break.

Tubbo falls and _breaks_ in Phil’s arms, who is suddenly just besides him, sobbing as he spills all of the things he’s been meaning to say, the words that he’s been holding in even before L’manburg blew up, before Schlatt won the election, even before L’manburg won its independence. He apologises, too, for the cursed golden boots and the arrow and just everything in general.

It’s rough, being the president, and having all the weight of a nation on your shoulders, and all the while just being a traumatised _child_.

Tubbo doesn’t know how long he spends in Phil’s arms, crying his heart out, in a way that he hasn’t been able to in front of someone else since Tommy’s exile. Phil rubs a hand on his back, rocks him back and forth, hugging him in a way no one has in months.

It’s not forgiveness. Not yet, at least. There are still unanswered questions as to why Phil did this, or why Tubbo did that. But it is healing, and they are apologies.

And perhaps, with time and patience, they might just be as close as they were with each other when they were younger.

It’s barely dawn when the voices return. Tommy tries to ignore them, but they’re just so loud, and they’ve already ruined his sleep, and he has half a mind to go back to sleep but he can’t because they’re just yelling that loud.

_“TUBBO”_

_“please go back to lmanberg tommy”_

_“E”_

_“TECHNOBLADE”_

_“PHILZA MINECRAFT AND TUBBO”_

_“anarchy uwu???”_

_“ew wtf”_

_“E”_

“Why are you spamming random people’s names in my head,” Tommy draws out that last word as he rolls out of bed, stumbling over to his bathroom to splash his face, brush his teeth, have a quick shower, and eat breakfast.

He’s woken up a little earlier than he would’ve, so he takes his time in doing everything, and ignores his chat yelling at him to visit different people.

Surprisingly, Day and Night aren’t awake at this hour, but Clementine is, so he pours some seeds into her bowl and leaves fish in his cats’ bowls. Then, he shrugs on a red jacket over his black shirt, and slips his feet into his shoes.

As he prepares to head out, he feels a shiver going up his spine, and frowns. He wraps his jacket around him tighter, eventually deciding to just button up the jacket.

“For some reason, I feel like today is soon going to become shit,” he says aloud. “But nevermind that. We should go to the clearing again now.”

But something in him makes him turn around to grab a diamond axe. And despite the voices’ confusion, he doesn’t answer them, because really, how does he answer a question that he doesn’t even know the answer to?

He tucks the axe into his inventory. And for some reason, he also finds himself reaching for his stash of golden apples, and grabbing five out of the thirty he has. He also tucks some diamond armour into his inventory.

Then, still ignoring chat yelling at him in confusion and to make him visit people he really doesn’t want to meet right now, he finally starts actually making his way to the grounds, where Technoblade is probably going to send him a stink eye for showing up late again.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so this took longer than expected... in my defence, I was working on two other oneshots. that’s not an excuse but it is an explanation.
> 
> anyways I hope you enjoy this chapter! I worked really hard on it :D
> 
> warning: there’s like a brief thing where the impact of gaslighting and emotional manipulation, as well as borderline abuse (?) is shown. if any part of it is inaccurate or offensive, please let me know!

Technoblade sighs as he waits in the grounds again. He’s donned in his Netherite armour, due to some of his chat members voicing his concern for his lack of defence.

“Thank you Fan-Litearl for the fifty, pig tier pog,” he says idly, sorting through his donations as he waits. His chat is a mixture of voices all saying different things.

_“where’s tommy??”_

_“E”_

_“Tommy”_

_“can we see the pets again?”_

_“E”_

“Chat, he’ll come soon,” he sighs. “You’ve seen his habits, chat. Stop asking to see his pets. And stop asking where he is. He’ll show up soon.”

At least, he hopes so. There’s something different about to day, something that makes Technoblade wary and on edge, wearing his most powerful armour, unlike the past few times that he wore a worn-down armour to meet with Tommy.

“Well, I’m surprised to find you here, Technoblade.”

Technoblade tenses up, hand instinctively taking out his new Netherite axe, gleaming with enchantments. Slowly, deliberately, he turns around, with eyes narrowed, to face the smiling man in the shadows of the trees.

_“WHAT YHE FUCK”_

_“BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD”_

_“E”_

_“BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD”_

_“FUCK”_

_“E”_

_“BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD”_

He knows just who exactly has come, even if said person is hidden in the shadows. So do the voices, as they start chanting for blood and murder.

“Dream.”

_“DON’T GO!!!”_

_“NONONONONON RUN BACK RUN BACK”_

_“technobladeeee”_

_“DREAM”_

_“hello techno’s chat <3”_

_“tommy’s chat we need you all to tell this gremlin to GO BACK RIGHT NOW”_

“Why the fuck is Technoblade’s own voices in my head now?” Tommy grouses, continuing walking even as the voices scream at him to head back.

He knows he’s running late, but for some inexplicable reason, he finds himself continually stopping and continuing. The voices scream at him not to go, but he figures that they’re just pranking him again, like the first few times they’ve said that his house was on fire.

He’s already put on some diamond boots and a helmet, and the diamond sword is tucked to his side. 

Tommy lets out a relieved sigh when he spots the clearing up ahead. He starts jogging, wanting to get there as soon as possible, only to freeze when he sees a familiar face.

Dream is standing in front of Technoblade, with his arms crossed as he talks. Technoblade, for his part, is also standing there, simply listening.

‘What the fuck?’ Tommy thinks. His hands start to shake.

It’s Dream. Dream’s here. Dream is here. Dream is in full Netherite armour. Dream is talking. Dream is talking to Technoblade. Dream is talking to Technoblade on the grounds where he and Technoblade have been meeting at.

Tommy doesn’t realise what he’s done until he catches himself hidden behind a few bushes, not too close but not too far from the two either, just close enough to hear their conversation. He’s also paused in taking off his helmet, and when he looks down, he sees that he’s thrown down his sword and taken off his boots.

Shakily, he picks his sword back up and slips his feet into his boots while listening to Dream and Technoblade’s conversation. Luckily, neither of them have noticed him.

_“WHAT THE FUCK”_

_“IT SRREAM”_

_“DREAM”_

_“RUN AWAY RUN AWAY”_

_“fuckkkkkk”_

_“TECHNO BETRAYED YOU!!!”_

_“person before me please shut the ruck up”_

_“DREAM nd TECHNO WHAT CRIMES WILL THEY DO”_

_“tommy take deep breaths. youre okay.”_

“You still owe me a favour, Technoblade,” Dream reminds, and Tommy sucks in a quiet but sharp breath.

‘Please don’t, Technoblade,’ he thinks desperately. He doesn’t think he’ll be able to handle another betrayal. ‘Don’t give me away.’

“Well, yes,” Technoblade responds.

“Then you must know what a favour means.”

Tommy suits up quietly. The diamond chestplate is strapped over his shirt, and the diamond pants are tugged on soon enough. Tommy grips his sword in anxiousness, golden apples ready in case he ever needs them.

The urge to just go out and follow Dream is big, but Tommy’s promised himself that he would never follow Dream ever again. The bastard managed to get him once, but not again. Never again.

He would not let Dream control him ever again.

“I do,” Technoblade agrees.

“Then I need you to tell me this, as a favour,” Dream croons, his voice sickeningly sweet. “Where. Is. Tommy.”

Technoblade’s eyes dart to him for a while, before turning back to Dream. Tommy holds his breath, waiting for what Technoblade might say. The voices whisper amongst themselves, telling him to run away, telling him to reveal himself, and it’s all a blur that he finds himself breathing harshly.

He forces himself to calm down, and listen to what Technoblade will say.

“Well, Tommy is not here,” Technoblade says. 

“Don’t play games with me. I know you know where he is.”

“See, that’s the problem,” Technoblade drawls. “I don’t actually know where he is.”

“...really,” Dream hums.

“Yup. Now if you don’t mind, I need to go now; Carl will be missing me very much.”

“Yes, but unfortunately, Technoblade,” Dream takes out his weapon, the Netherite axe gleaming with a dark purple shine. “Since Tommy’s not here, I have to settle for you instead.”

Technoblade takes out his own axe as well, eyes trained on Dream. Tommy sucks in another sharp breath.

The two start to fight. Their axes clash, sparks flying as they sprint all across the grounds. 

Tommy wants to help, to run away, to yell, to just do something, but his body is frozen in place, and no matter how much he doesn’t want to, or how much the voices yell at him, he watches the fight.

So, he knows when Technoblade is losing. He sees when Dream has got the upper hand. Tommy can only stand in shock and watch in horror, body unable to move itself.

And then Technoblade falls, his axe falling out of his hand, and the voices are screaming at him to just _do something already_ as the death message appears in chat.

**_Technoblade was slain by Dream. 2 lives remaining._ **

Dream then has the audacity to let out a chuckle.

_“TOMMY”_

_“RUN RUN RUN”_

_“FIHHT DREAM FOR TECHNO”_

_“RUN AWAY”_

_“DREAM”_

_“BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD PRINCE??”_

_“BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD PRINCE PLS!!”_

“Well, that was easy,” Dream says lightly, and Tommy sees red.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> did you enjoy the chapter :)?


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it’s almost the end buckaroos. i left y’all on a cliffhanger last time, but i’m sure you’ll enjoy this wonderful chapter :D
> 
> is this how sword-axe fights work? no. is this how minecraft mechanics work? also no. do i really care that much? no.

_“BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD PRINCE”_

_“VENGEANCE”_

_“FUCK DREAM”_

_“KILL DREAM”_

_“MURDERINNIT”_

_“BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD PRINCE!!”_

Logically, Tommy knows he’s not as good as Dream. His multiple past failures and losses to the masked man proves it. Throwing himself into the fray in a desperate attempt to avenge Technoblade will only result in his death, which may even be permanent.

In another world, perhaps he would’ve ran away. Not as a coward, but he’ll be thinking that of himself for ages, and his relationship with Technoblade will never truly mend.

But in this world, Tommy is fuelled by spite and a hatred for his manipulator. In this world, Tommy stands his ground, and cuts off God's strings.

He rushes out, and gets one good hit on the bastard. The look of surprise on Dream’s face makes Tommy grin, blocking the next swing that comes with his sword.

“ _You_ ,” Dream snarls. Tommy stares up at him, and spits on his mask.

“Me!” he crows back, swinging his sword forwards again. Dream blocks it with his shield, but that’s okay. A shield won’t be enough to stop Tommy.

The feeling of a battle is familiar. Tommy may not have had any human interaction in quite a while, but his instincts don’t fail him. He finds himself moving back and forth, swinging his sword and moving at just the right times.

The voices are chanting for blood, for vengeance, for revenge, for the satisfaction of seeing the god being put into his place. And who is Tommy to deny them of what they want to see?

“You should stop doing this, Tommy,” Dream calls, getting one good hit on him. Tommy winces, eating a golden apple quickly. “I’m only doing this for your own good! You’re only hurting yourself if you keep doing this!”

More hits are landed on him. Tommy grimaces, but spins around and starts running away to hopefully gain more time.

“Well I say you can fuck off, bitch!” Tommy cackles, grabbing some blocks and placing them behind him as he sinks his teeth into another golden apple. Regeneration starts healing his hearts, as absorption helps to lessen the impact of the blows that Dream lands on him.

“Don’t you see, Tommy?!” Tommy ducks under Dream’s swing of his axe, wincing as he feels his diamond boots break. “I’m only doing this to help you! It’s your fault that your exile happened anyways, I’m just making sure you stay put!”

“Oh, fuck off, you egotistical bastard,” Tommy hisses back, biting into another golden apple as his health starts to lower. “You can tell me more about help when you stop trying to string us all around like your fuckin’ dolls or some shit!”

He knows he should be afraid. He only has three parts of his armour left and two golden apples left. He’s facing an opponent with fully enchanted Netherite armour and weapons. By all means, he should’ve been dead by now, if not within the next minute or so.

But Tommy Innit has had enough. He’s a boy fuelled with spite and the anger that he’s collected throughout the years, at the one person who has done nothing but continuously ruin his life. 

“If I’m going down, I’m taking you with me!” Tommy snarls, and charges forwards.

He bites down on another golden apple, blocking another blow as he goes fully on the offensive.

In another slam of his sword, Dream’s shield shatters, but not before Tommy grips and _pulls_ his sword towards him, and when he can’t, he pushes it towards Dream instead, letting the laws of gravity and force do their job as Dream swings his axe to him.

It hurts, of course, and he’s pretty sure his helmet broke as well, but it’s all worth it. Tommy eats his last golden apple as Dream falls to the floor, and he doesn’t even bother fighting back, choosing instead to type something into his communicator. Even so, Tommy continues punching and slashing his sword at him, desperate to get him to die.

Dream may be a fast typer, but Tommy is a faster fighter.

Dream pauses from typing whatever he’s trying to type in, and raises his axe to block Tommy’s swing. And maybe, if Tommy was a little weaker, it could’ve worked.

But here, Tommy has the backing of both his and Technoblade’s voices behind him. The voices chant for blood, for _Dream’s_ blood, and in this moment, Tommy can give them what they want.

The axe clatters to the ground. The mask breaks. And for once in his life, Tommy gets to see Dream’s true face, the one hiding behind that eternally-smiling mask, as he swings his own sword down, driving it directly into his heart.

And all the while, bright green eyes stare directly into his own icy blue ones.

**_Dream was slain by TommyInnit. 2 lives remaining._ **

Tommy sinks to the floor as the body slowly disappears. The sword clatters to the ground as the body turns into dust, everything Dream had on him dropping to the floor.

He stares at his shaking hands. He… he did it. He had killed Dream. He had killed the one bastard who had made his life hell. Not only that, but he took one of his canon lives too.

_“BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD PRINCE!!!”_

_“POGCHAMP”_

_“POG”_

_“THATS MY STREAMER POG!!”_

_“POG”_

_“BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD PRINCE”_

_“🦀DREAM IS DEAD🦀”_

His communicator is making so much noise. When he checks it, he can’t help but start laughing, almost hysterically.

_Tubbo_: WHAT_

_Ranboo: Oh my god_

_Quackity: POP OFF TOMMYINNIT_

_ConnorEatsPants: god is dead???_

And underneath all those messages freaking out about him killing Dream and how Dream only has two lives left, is a whisper.

_Technoblade whispers to you: wait there, I’m coming_

‘I don’t think I could move even if I tried,’ Tommy laughs in his head. His health is so low that if a hostile mob is to spawn and attack him, he would die in one hit. When he checks his armour and weapons, he finds his sword almost broken, and his two remaining armour pieces in tatters.

The voices are still celebrating. They call him the blood prince, they say ‘fuck you’ to Dream, they even do the weird crab thing that Technoblade has said that his own voices do sometimes.

He doesn’t realise how long he’s been kneeled over, shaking and just kind of existing, until he hears hooves against the ground.

A hand carefully taps on his shoulder. “Tommy, are you…”

“I’m fine, big man,” he laughs out loud, wincing at how much it hurts. “I’m on like… one and a half heart, though. Pretty damn weak and tired too.”

A golden apple is handed to him, and he sinks his teeth into it gratefully, munching on it as Technoblade helps him stand up. Tommy stumbles on his feet before managing to steady himself, and as he looks around, he realises that Dream’s items are still on the floor.

“You can take all of them,” Technoblade speaks to him, when he notices his staring. “I mean, you _did_ kill him.”

“Yeah, but you defended me first, and some of the stuff was yours first,” Tommy mumbles back, and it’s still kind of weird that Technoblade had decided to defend him, when he could’ve just ratted himself out and saved himself from losing a canon life. “We should split it. Half and half.”

Technoblade huffs out a laugh. “If you say so. Which parts do you want?”

The next few minutes are spent dividing the loot they’ve gotten from Dream between the two of them. Tommy nabs the armour for himself, since most of his armour is already broken anyways. He also grabs a few blocks that Dream had. Everything else, including Dream’s axe and any other weapons he might’ve had, as well as what he’s picked up from Technoblade before, goes to Technoblade.

“Well, guess that’s it,” Tommy says lightly. He tries to walk away, only to stumble and nearly fall again. “Ow, shit, fuck-”

He hears Technoblade snort. “You’re not going to be able to walk back to wherever your home is in that kind of state.”

“I’m fine,” he responds sharply. “Just- just give me a golden apple or something. It can last me the whole walk through. You should have one or two healing potions on you, Technoblade.”

“I was too busy trying to get as much of my stuff as possible to come here and kill Dream,” Technoblade responds dryly. “Besides, you look pretty, uh, shaken up there.”

Is he? Tommy feels fine. Sure, there are still the aftershocks of the fact that he had just killed Dream, and had taken one of his canon lives, but he’s fine.

But as he glances up at Techno, he realises one thing: he would like comfort very, very much.

_“Awwwwwww”_

_“theyre brothers ur honor”_

_“TECHNOBLADEEEEE”_

_“E”_

_“Cute!!!”_

_“Fuck dreaaammmm”_

Carl is munching on some grass when they head to him. As they do, Tommy looks up at Techno in uncertainty. However, the hand on his back never falters as the other gently pushes him forwards.

“Come on, Tommy,” Techno says quietly. “Let’s get you somewhere comfortable.”

And for once, Tommy doesn’t refuse. He lets Techno help him up on Carl, lets him steady him, and together, they ride to Techno’s home.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please listen to Theseus by Oh Hellos. I listened to it on loop while writing this and you should too, because even without the name it has it’s still really good, and can be used as a TommyInnit theme song.
> 
> no angst in this chapter, I promise :D I think you all will very much like this last chapter (at least, I hope so)

They take a brief detour where Tommy rushes off to his own house to get his pets. He refuses to leave them alone for an unknown amount of time, and no matter how much Techno protests in letting him go alone, Tommy comes back eventually with a few extra golden apples tucked into his inventory, and his three pets clutched in his arms.

Techno’s house is… surprisingly cute. It’s a cottage, with spruce wood and snow piling on the roof, and even a chimney. It looks like Tommy’s own house, except his house is on a beach, and much bigger.

His voices seem to like it at least.

_“COTTAGECORE TECHNOBLADE????”_

_“awww he even has a stable for carl!!”_

_“Antarctic anarchists when?”_

_“would die for clem day n night”_

_“philza? philza minecraft? philza minecraft pog? where is he”_

_“TUBBBOOOOO”_

Tommy hugs his languid and sleepy cats closer to his chest, letting Clementine perch on his shoulder as he waits for Techno to strap Carl into his stable.

He can’t say that he fully trusts the other yet, of course. They both have unanswered questions, and a relationship that wavers. But for now, they’ve both helped each other, and if that’s not enough to at least warrant some trust, Tommy doesn’t know what will.

Day whimpers in his arms. He shushes her quietly and hugs her closer.

“Can we go in yet?” he asks. “Day’s cold, and I think Night might be too.”

“You should’ve asked earlier,” Techno mutters as a response, but he ushers Tommy into his room, and the warmth settles over him like a blanket.

His pets seem to enjoy it. Clementine flies around in curiosity, perching on the top of a chest as Day and Night jump from his arms to walk around the Enderman in a boat curiously.

“That’s Edward,” Techno introduces dryly. “He’s an Enderman.”

“I can tell,” Tommy frowns. “Why are you keeping him in a boat? Isnt that kind of… kidnapping?”

Day starts to hiss at Edward, who responds with a loud screech that makes Day and Night run away and to Tommy. 

“Nevermind,” he decides. “Edward can stay in the boat. Or whatever.”

Techno chuckles. 

Tommy finds himself sitting on a chair, gently playing with his cats as Techno prepares food. He has to admit, he’s curious as to how he’s been spending his days in retirement.

“Phil would be here, but he’s back at L’manburg, so you can use his bowl for now,” he says, handing him a bowl. It has mashed potatoes and some smushed wheat in it, and Tommy greedily eats it.

He doesn’t really know what to feel about Phil. Sure, he’s his pseudo-dad or whatever, but they’ve never been family, have they?

Clementine suddenly whistles from the lack of attention, and Tommy’s thoughts are interrupted, as he gently runs his fingers through her feathers.

_“AWWWWW”_

_“the pets!!”_

_“this is so cute”_

_“if no one got me I know Clementine got me”_

_“Day and Night own my whole heart fam”_

“My chat is currently cooing over your pets,” Techno says dryly, his voice cutting through the other voices. Tommy laughs as Day and Night both visibly preen, and Clementine puffs up, feathers shifting.

“Well it would be weird if they didn’t,” he responds, letting Night lick from his bowl, since he’s already full. “Nice place you’ve got, by the way.”

“Thanks.”

After a brief moment of silence where Tommy swallows the last of his food, he finally speaks up. “I should probably be heading back now. My health is back up now, and I feel fine.”

As he says so, he looks at Techno. Something in him wants the other to ask him to stay, but Tommy doesn’t want to wish for too much, especially since their relationship is still kind of fragile, and built on shaky, maybe-mutual trust.

“Well,” Techno begins, after another brief moment of silence. “You can stay here, though.”

“I mean, I don’t want to stay too long-”

“And you won’t have to,” Techno replies calmly. “You’re probably still a little shaken up from that whole homeless man thing, and it wouldn’t be a problem for me if you decided to stay overnight in my house.”

Tommy lights up. He can stay here, but even so, there’s still something that he doesn’t think he can ask for, not out loud at least.

“That would-” Tommy clears his throat. “That would be nice. Thanks.”

“Oh, come on,” as if noticing what he wants, Techno sighs, and that’s all Tommy needs before he’s running up and hugging the older, burying his head in his chest.

It’s so warm. Tommy’s not a cat, but he kind of understands why his cats like warmth so much. A hand cards through his hair gently, patting him on the back as he sighs, both in relief and exhaustion.

_“AWWWWW”_

_“TECHNOBRO”_

_“my heart omg”_

_“awwwwwwwwwww”_

_“GOD I wish that was me”_

_“this is so sweet??”_

_“Awwwwww”_

_“Affection, gross”_

“Thanks,” Tommy murmurs, for quite possibly the third time that day. “I, uh, needed that.”

“Hmm,” Techno doesn’t actually reply, but that’s okay; Tommy’s lived with Techno long enough to know what his sounds mean.

“I should probably get a change of clothes, though,” he adds on. “Kinda don’t wanna sleep in bloodied clothes.”

“And you need a bath too,” Techno teases. “You smell like a zombie.”

“Wh- no I don’t!”

Techno lets him have a bath in his bathroom. There’s no tub, but Tommy still builds one and sinks into it for a while, until Techno has to wake him up to actually get changed and not have wrinkled skin. Tommy does make sure to take down the tub, though. 

He gets to wear the 100% authentic cotton that Techno always uses for his clothes, and relishes in the softness and comfort that it brings. It isn’t anything fancy — Tommy’s pretty sure that a simple blue jumper and long black pants don’t count as fancy — but it’s comfortable, and for sleep, that’s all that matters.

There are a few things he has to do before heading to bed, though, and he tells Techno as such.

“I just have to do a few things real quick,” Tommy assures Techno’s skeptical look. “Promise.”

As Techno heads up his stairs to head to bed, Tommy quickly makes a bed for all three of his pets to reside in. He smiles gently as he fluffs up the pillows, letting them decide when they want to sleep for themselves.

There’s just one last thing to do. Tommy looks around, and finds a few pieces of paper in a chest. He grabs one of them, and takes out his pencil, before sitting down on a chair. Clementine perches on his shoulder, giving him her silent support. In his head, the voices start cheering.

_“LETTER??”_

_“IS IT TUBBO PLEAS ETELL ME YOUR WRITING TO TUBBO”_

_“TUBBBOOOO”_

_“tubbee!!”_

_“E”_

_“tell tubbo!! meet with Tubbo!!”_

He laughs lightly at the voices’ comments. They may still be annoying, but he’s starting to appreciate them, just a little. He puts his pencil to paper, and starts writing.

**Dear Tubbo,**

**Hey, it’s me...**

**_fin._**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and that’s a wrap! if you told younger me I would eventually finish a multichaptered fic, I wouldnt have believed you, that’s how bad my track record with multiple chaptered fics were aha
> 
> this fic was meant as a self-indulgent thing, a way to kinda ignore dsmp canon and give some tommy & techno fluff bc god knows we all need it. if enough people want it I might even write a sequel to this particular au (if I have the time lol)
> 
> uhhh I’ve never finished a fic w/ more than one chapter before, not exactly sure what to put here aha
> 
> hope you’re all staying safe and healthy, if the current dream smp streams are making you sad or stressed, it’s always okay to stop because there will always be recaps of streams online, please leave a comment or some kudos if you enjoyed, and thanks for reading!


End file.
